My Immortal
by mamaXunicorn
Summary: Sometimes it takes a little tragedy to realize what you're not willing to lose.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/n: Hello everyone I'm back with yet another story. I know this has been done before but I thought I'd take a shot at it. Hope you enjoy!

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Emma didn't think much of it when she didn't see Will that morning. He'd been avoiding her after all, not that she could blame him. She'd been a terrible friend, no a terrible _person_, lately. Will tried to keep it together around her and he managed pretty well up until Christmas.

But it had been a week since they had been back at school and the most Will said to her was a "hello Emma". He didn't even ask how her vacation was.

Again, not like she blamed him.

Without even realizing it she'd go off about Carl, most of the time not noticing how the brightness completely drained out of his face when she would mention the 'C' word.

Ever since her marriage she tried to be more conscious of the way she talked about Carl in front of Will. She couldn't bare to see that look in his eyes, the look of complete and utter heart break, the look she had seen on him after she told him about her marriage.

But over New Years she had made a silent resolution to be a better friend to Will, to stop talking about her married life altogether except when he was the one to ask about it. She wouldn't treat him like the man who broke her heart almost a year ago but as her best friend who she loved spending time with.

Will, however, wasn't making it easy for her. Every time she'd call to him in the hallways he'd pretend to ignore her and walk in the opposite direction. He _never_ ate lunch in the faculty lounge anymore and the one time that she tried to talk to him in his office she found the door locked. She contemplated knocking but she had a feeling Will wouldn't open the door.

She felt a small stab of hurt at his blatant disregard for her but she had brought it upon herself really. When Will was there she only pushed him away and the harder he fought the more she ran and now that he was finally giving up she missed his presence around.

She was a horribly selfish woman.

Truthfully she didn't even deserve Will as her friend. He deserved a lot better than to have his heart ripped out every day upon seeing her and that ring on her finger.

It hurt her to know she was hurting him so but she had stepped deep in it and there was no getting back now. Anything she could ever do from this point on would only hurt Will more.

Unless...

No. She couldn't do that. She loved Carl and being his wife is what she wanted to be.

At least thats what she told herself everyday to try and get past the sinking feeling in her stomach each time she'd get a glimpse of Will's slumped shoulders and his pale and tired face.

So despite her desperate wishes to make Will's pain go away, she felt useless for there was nothing she could do.

The whispers are what first caught her attention that day.

Most of the school carried on as normally, students chatting in the hallway, flirting (and making out) by the lockers, kids getting slushied, jocks tormenting nerds but there were a few students that were unusually quiet.

Twelve kids who all share a common interest in the performing arts.

The tight knit group usually chatted happily about anything and everything as they wandered through the halls of McKinley but today they only whispered quietly amongst each other, their faces all wearing a matching frown. When Rachel passed Emma in the hallway the two females locked eyes, Rachel's eyes pooled with sadness and she dropped her head shaking her head as she flew past Emma. Rachel's odd behavior wasn't the oddest thing to happen either.

Some of the faculty scoffed at her as they passed her in the hallway, some even giving her dirty looks. Emma almost asked them what the looks were for but most of the staff scared her even after she proved to most of them that she could stand up for herself. Even Shannon Beiste, who was usually very friendly with Emma seemed to snub her off.

_And_Sue Sylvester actually smiled at her in the hallway, giving her a rare 'job well done' look.

Emma was floored and a little anxious as to why she had everyone reacting that way. What had she done to receive dirty and ashamed looks from the students and faculty and an approving look from Sue Sylvester.

That thought is what scared her the most. She had no idea how she could have done something so wicked that Sue would be pleased.

Her answer came when she went to use the ladies room. Just as she was about to leave the stall and head to the sink to wash her hands the door opened and two of the faculty, one woman from the attendance office, the other an english teacher, walked in. Emma retreated back into the stall and reluctantly took a seat on the toilet, hoping that the two women would be done soon.

"Did you hear what happened to Schuester?" Ms. Levy, the woman from the attendance office asked immediately catching Emma's attention. Emma held her breathe and listened closely.

"No," Mrs. Signa, the english teacher responded with deep rooted interest. Despite Will's slight downfall as the resident school "man whore" last year, he was still the most well loved teacher at the school, especially among the female faculty. "What happened?"

"He's in the hospital." Ms. Levy answered softly and a hand flew to Emma's mouth to restrain a gasp. She started wide eyed at the yellow stall in front of her, trying to keep her heart rate and breathing even as she listened to the women talking.

"Oh my god." Mrs. Signa gasped. "Is he alright?"

"I don't know." The other woman replied, a hint of worry in her voice. "I don't know the details but apparently he was found this morning in the _park._"

"The park?"

Emma fought desperately to control the tears that sprung to her eyes. She bit down hard on her lip to keep herself from making any noise at all.

"He was passed out cold on one of the benches. From what I'm hearing it sounded like he was there all night and someone found him this morning and couldn't wake him up."

Mrs. Signa suddenly gasped again. "Now that you mention it I do remember passing the park this morning and seeing a bunch of cop cars. I thought the police were just arresting some drunk homeless guy." Her voice softened as she let out a little sigh. "I wonder what he was doing out there."

"He's depressed Kathy." Ms. Levy explained, her voice oozing with sympathy. "One can only imagine what is going on in his brain, the poor guy."

"But to freeze to near death in park?"

"You've seen him around lately Kath, he's like the undead. He always greeted me with a smile and cheerful wave when he'd sign in in the morning. No matter how bad of a morning I had getting my kids up for school seeing Will Schuester walk in with a smile on his face would cure all the negativity." She paused for a second and sighed wistfully. "I haven't seen that smile in almost a year and now he won't even say hello. I think the only thing keeping him here is his paycheck."

"And his glee club." Kathy added. "He loves those glee kids."

"You're right." Ms. Levy agreed. "Whatever lasting energy he does have he puts into prepping those kids."

"He's even letting his teaching slip." Kathy sighed. "Maria told me that all of Schue's kids are coming to her now for spanish help. Will was the best spanish teacher in Allen County."

"The things the heart can make you do. I've never seen a man so enamored before."

"And now she's married? Oh, my heart breaks _for_ him."

Emma's heart leapt into throat and she suddenly felt very sick to her stomach. It felt like the pasty yellow walls of the bathroom stall were closing in on her and she struggled to control her sudden erratic breathing.

The two women continued to talk but it was all a jumbled mess of words to Emma.

Will was in the _hospital._

Will was in the hospital because he was _depressed._

Will was depressed because of _her. _

Hot tears burned at the back of her eyes and she doubled over her knees trying to suppress the horrible feeling of nausea that was bubbling in her stomach. She closed her eyes tightly and tried to keep her even deep and even.

Somewhere in the distance she heard the two women wish each other a good rest of the day as they left the bathroom, letting the door slammed closed behind them.

Finally when she was alone, a sob burst from Emma's lips and she grabbed the handle to the stall door, yanking it open and stumbling out.

She collided with the sink, gripping onto the white porcelain tightly and staring down at nothing in particular as she tried to catch her breath.

She slowly lifted her head, facing her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were bloodshot, her cheeks were stained with tear marks, her hair seemed even more dead than usual...but that is not what she saw.

The only thing she saw staring back at her was a monster.

Will, her best friend, the best loved teacher at this school, the paternal figure to more than one of the glee kids, the man who was too nice and too sweet for his own good, had nearly frozen to death alone on a park bench.

And it was all her fault.

She found herself running through the halls, ignoring the looks she was getting from the people in the hallway and bursting into Figgins' office.

The principal was about to scold his employee for bursting into his office without an appointment but then he saw the look on Emma's face. If it was one thing that Figgins hated it was to see a woman crying.

He had asked what was wrong and Emma blubbered out a response and as soon as she mentioned Will's name Figgins dismissed her immediately, telling her to go to him.

Emma kept her tears at bay the whole drive to the hospital, keeping her focus intensely on the road, trying not to think of Will.

Halfway through her drive she realized she had no idea what hospital Will had been taken to.

With her heart pounding wildly in her chest she pulled over to the side of the road, not truly caring that she was in an unfamiliar neighbor hood and broke down against her steering wheel.

She cried until her tears soaked the collar of her blouse and until her head felt like it was about to implode.

She finally calmed down enough to realize that crying on the side of the road would not do anything for Will.

She _had_ to know if he was okay.

Wiping at her eyes furiously and taking a deep breath, Emma pulled back into traffic and headed towards the nearest hospital, hoping and praying that Will would be there.

When she found a parking spot, she practically leaped out of her car and took off in a run towards the entrance. The cold bit harshly at her lungs and the wind whipped furiously against her tear stained cheeks but she could care less.

She stumbled into the entrance with a violent cough, looked around adamantly for the main desk and practically flew over there.

"May I help you?" One of the nurses behind the desk asked sweetly, seemingly not surprised by Emma's hysterical appearance.

"There was a man brought in here..." Emma bit out between a sob. "A few hours ago...William Schuester."

"And your name?" The woman asked, already pulling up Will's file.

"Emma Pillsbury." She answered without hesitation, the second part of her now hyphenated last name completely escaping her thoughts.

The woman nodded as she bit her lip, her eyes darting across the screen as Emma anxiously tried to sneak a peak at Will's file.

"Ah, Emma it appears you're listed here as Mr. Schuester's emergency contact."

"I am?" Emma whispered, befuddled. "Why didn't I - why didn't I get a call?"

The nurse turned to look at her with a furrowed brow and another nurse who sat behind the desk turned to them. "I remember making that call, Miss Pillsbury. It was a man who answered the phone."

Emma stared at the nurse in panicked bewilderment. Why would a man be answering her...?

Realization suddenly hit her like a ton of bricks.

Carl.

Their landline had rung this morning.

Carl had answered.

She was in the bathroom and called out to him asking who it was.

He said it was the wrong number.

"Oh my god." She whispered as new and fresh tears pooled her eyes. She suddenly found it very hard to breathe and it felt like the room was spinning.

One of the nurses was instantly at her side, holding onto her lightly and she could barely register that they were calling her name. They led her over to one of the waiting room chairs and she doubled over again, the incredibly nauseous feeling building once more in her stomach.

She breathed deeply in and out for several minutes as the nurse rubbed her back comfortingly.

"Miss Pillsbury?" The nurse questioned softly once Emma was calm enough. "Would you like to go and visit Mr. Schuester now?"

Guilt swarmed inside of her at the mention of Will's name but she nodded her head, taking a deep breath and slowly rising from her seat. Not bothering to wipe the tears away from her face she followed the nurse numbly through the bright white halls.

They took the elevator up to the third floor and turned down many other hallways before they finally stopped in front of a room. The kind nurse gave Emma a sad smile as she opened the door to Will's room.

From where she stood Emma could hear the constant beeping of all the machines Will was surely hooked up to and she froze to the spot, staring horrified into the room.

For the first time she was actually realizing where she was. She was in a hospital, filled with germs and who knows what kind of sick person had been standing in the same spot she was.

Her breathing started to become erratic and the nurse gently placed her hand on the small of Emma's back to comfort her.

That snapped Emma back to reality and she slowly stepped into the room, her heart pounding wildly in her chest, afraid of what she might see.

A low cry escaped her lips once she laid on the man in the bed. The only visible part of his body was his blueish face, the rest was covered in many, many blankets. She brought a hand over her mouth to muffle her cries and more tears rolled down her cheeks as she approached his bed.

The nurse followed in behind her, grabbing Will's chart off the edge of his bed. "Judging by the state we found the patient in we believe he has a case of moderate hypothermia and we found traces of alcohol in his blood. We're doing everything we can to flush out his system and regulate his body temperature and if no other complications arise we believe Mr. Schuester will be just fine."

Emma could barely register anything the nurse said as she stared down at Will, her hand still tightly pressed over her mouth.

The nurse noticed Emma's knees starting to wobble and she quickly grabbed one of the chairs from the side of the room and pulled it up the side of Will's bed behind Emma. Emma, catching her movement out of the corner of her eye, collapsed back into the chair burying her head in her hands, letting her tears fall silently.

The nurse placed her hand over Emma's shoulder comfortingly for a few fleeting seconds and then slowly backed out of the room, leaving the two alone.

A few quiet sobs burst from Emma's lips and she brought the chair so it pressed up against Will's bed. She placed her hand over the thick stack of blankets that covered Will and sought out his hand. She could barely make out the outline of his fingers but she rested her hand there protectively and bravely brought her gaze up to Will's pale face.

"Will." His name tumbled from her lips in a helpless whimper and she rested her forehead against his chest.

"I'm so sorry." She cried into his blankets. "I'm so sorry."


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/n: I was VERY pleased by the amount of feedback I received from the first chapter so I typed this one up to get out to you as soon as possible! Hope you enjoy!

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Emma was livid as she pulled into the driveway of her condo. She had just about cried out all the tears in her body so the only thing left to dwell on as she rode back from the hospital was Carl.

Carl and how he _lied_ to her.

She gripped the steering wheel so tightly at times her knuckles turned white and her tires screeched in protest as she'd slam her foot down on the gas to get home.

Part of her didn't want to get home. She didn't want to see Carl's face at the moment, she didn't want to see anybody's face, she just wanted to be alone.

But she had a husband now and one who would be wondering why she was late. At first she dreaded telling him but then her anger over powered any fear and though confrontations usually scared her, she felt the same adrenaline pulsing through her veins that she did that day she told off Will in the teacher's lounge. She was angry, she was hurt and she was going to let him know it.

She slammed the car door shut making sure Carl knew she was home and she stormed up to the front door, jiggling her keys into the door and letting it slam open with a loud bang.

She blew out a puff of hair as she stepped into the front hallway waiting for Carl to appear before her. She clenched her jaw tightly at his approaching footsteps and her seething anger only grew as his innocent face appeared around the corner.

She could tell he was about to question her lateness but was distracted by her appearance. She hadn't look in the mirror since she left the bathroom at school but she knew she looked worse than before.

"Ems," His sweet, caring voice was almost sickening and her eyes narrowed into a slight glare, "What happened to you?" A darkness washed over his eyes as he approached her in two long steps, reaching out his arms for her. "It was him again wasn't it? What did he do this time?"

Emma's eyes flashed angrily and she took a step back from Carl. "You know damn well that Will couldn't have done anything." She hissed coldly and Carl's eyes widened in surprise and if she wasn't so angry she would have been too. She hardly ever cursed in fact she was sure Carl had never heard her utter a single curse in the seven months they had been together.

"Is there a call you forgot to tell me about?" She asked calmly. "A call that came early this morning from a certain hospital but you told me it was a wrong number?"

Carl's face had gone stony as he stared at her quietly for a few very long unending seconds. He finally opened his mouth to speak but Emma cut him off roughly.

"He's my best friend Carl, how could you do that?" She cried, feeling the tears that she thought had dried out for that day coming back.

Carl sighed heavily, rubbing the back of his neck. "Don't you think its just a little inappropriate that he has you as his emergency contact?"

Emma's jaw dropped at his slight change in subject but she would not let him get away that easy. "Don't you think I would have been interested to know that my friend is in the hospital? You had no right to keep that information from me!"

"I didn't want you to worry, Ems." Carl answered softly. In the past Emma would have fallen instantly at his sweet charm and his warm, heart felt smile but today she finally saw through it.

"That's not true!" She exclaimed angrily and Carl even shrunk back at her harsh, screechy tone. "You know that's not true! You kept it from me because you didn't want me anywhere near Will! I'm sorry Carl but you're my husband NOT my father. Stop treating me like I'm your fifteen year old daughter!"

"Emma, I just want to protect you -"

"Protect me from what?" She cried, throwing her hands in the air. "Will? You want to protect me from Will? He's not a threat Carl!"

"Like hell he's not!" Carl finally snapped back and Emma faltered for a second but still held her ground. "He's sneaky Emma, he's just waiting for the right time to snatch you up and away from me."

"How dare you?" She hissed coldly. "I know he's done some pretty stupid things in the past but he's my friend first and foremost he would _never_ try to break up our marriage. He respects me too much for that and furthermore he's sweet and sensitive and caring..."

Carl rolled his eyes, interrupting her and she gaped at him, placing her hands on her hips.

"What?" She snapped.

"He's playing you Emma, can't you see that?"

"No Carl, I don't see that because I _know_ Will. He's a man of honor and dignity and he's very trustworthy. I'm sorry that you can't get past your petty jealousy to see that!"

Carl scoffed loudly. "Petty jealousy? You think I'm jealous...of _him?" _

"Yes." Emma answered surely. "Yes Carl I do, you have no other reason to keep the fact that he was in the hospital from me."

Carl stuttered for a few seconds, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "I-I-I have plenty of reasons."

Emma cocked an eyebrow sharply, waiting for him to explain himself but he only continued to stutter.

She sighed in frustration banging her fists lightly against her thighs. "He could have _died_ Carl. He could have been _dead._" Her voice cracked on the last word as her tears finally surfaced and rolled down her cheek silently. "And I never would have gotten to say goodbye or..." She paused, her eyes widened for a split second and then she let out another sob as she collapsed to the floor burying her face in her hands.

"Oh Ems..." Carl's voice was soft and caring again and she could hear him approaching. He knelt down beside her and slung his arm around her shoulders, guiding her against his chest.

She grabbed lightly onto his shirt, whimpering quietly as he rubbed her back soothingly. "I'm sorry Emma." He whispered, dropping a kiss to her head.

Then she froze. Her tears stopped, her heart skipped a beat and she even held her breath. She roughly pulled away from him and glared at him darkly from her place now across the room. Carl rose to his feet slowly, the shock evident on his face.

"Don't touch me, Carl." She warned darkly also slowly rising to her feet. "In fact I'd like you to leave."

"Excuse me?"

"I know you still have your old apartment uptown so please leave." She repeated slowly.

"Emma..." Carl approached her slowly, holding out his arms as if he were approaching a wild animal. "Sweetheart lets talk about this."

"There's nothing to talk about Carl, I want to be _alone_." Emma stressed, keeping her voice and facial expression even.

An awkward tension arose around them as they stared at each other for a long while, Emma's face in an icy stare and Carl's in pondering thought. Then Carl sighed in defeat as his shoulders dropped, "Fine."

Emma continued to keep her icy stare on him as he grabbed his coat and his keys and walked past Emma, walking out the front door and slamming the door behind him. She waited until she heard the familiar sound of his engine coming to life and the screech of his tires as he pulled out of the driveway before she collapsed to the ground again in heaping mess of tears and sobs.

She laid there for hours, even long after her tears had stopped falling. She wanted to move, she wanted to take a shower and get _clean_. The only problem was the mess she needed to clean was not something that could be scrubbed away with all the soap in the world.

Carl was angry with her, she was angry with Carl, her best friend was in the hospital because she was too busy running from her own feelings to even consider his and continued to endlessly break his heart until he reached a breaking point.

If you had told Emma at the start of the last year that Will Schuester would end up in the hospital because of _her _ she would have been horrified and cried for days at even the _thought_ of hurting Will that badly.

If you had told Emma at the start of last year that she had married her dentist in vegas after only five and half months of dating she would have gone into shock.

If you had told Emma that she would make such a mess of her life that even she could do nothing to clean up she would have denied it profusely and brought out her sanitizing wipes as comfort.

If you had showed Emma the person she had become she would be ashamed.

So Emma curled miserably into her carpeting, waiting, wishing, hoping that world would just go away.

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Emma found herself walking into the hospital entrance the next morning, a bit more calmly than the last time.

After a long and seemingly endless self hate party, Emma finally realized that she couldn't just sit back and hide from the world and more importantly she decided that she could not desert Will, not again.

She took a very long shower, tossed and turned all night but awoke with a determined air about her.

She was going to make things right.

She _had _to.

The nurse behind the desk recognized her from the day before and waved her on. Emma smiled politely in response and boarded the elevator, only hesitating slightly to press the germy button to the third floor.

Emma wasn't sure how she remembered how to get to Will's room but before she knew it she was standing in front of the closed door. Her breath hitched in her chest just at the thought of what lay on the other side. She could barely handle seeing him that way knowing she was the one to blame but she pushed that thought away and slowly entered the room.

She paused only a couple steps into the room when she saw a doctor leaning over Will's machines. The middle aged blonde haired man turned to her at the sound of her heels clicking against the tile and he smiled warmly.

"Hello." He greeted kindly.

Emma's cheeks flushed though she had no idea why and she took a single step back. "I-I'm sorry I didn't mean to disturb -"

He held one hand in the air to stop her. "That's perfectly alright." He turned momentarily to the clip board on his lap, jotted down a few things and then rose from his seat approaching Emma. "I was just nearly done anyway. Are you his wife?"

Emma's eyes widened and a small sound bubbled from her throat as she shook her head. "N-no...um, no...we're just...we're just friends."

"I'm sorry." The doctor apologized. "I had just assumed..." He trailed off his thought and then stuck out his hand, once again smiling. "My name is Dr. Manning, I'm Mr. Schuester's attending doctor."

Emma stared at his hand awkwardly, her brow furrowing in concentration but then she shuddered quietly and lifted her eyes back to his face. "How is he?"

Dr. Manning's hand fell back to his side and he shrugged off Emma's disregard for his friendly gesture and sighed, flipping open the chart. "Well, his body temperature is 96.2 which is an improvement but not as good as it should be. When he wakes up we'll try placing him in a tub of hot water that usually raises the body temperature quite significantly in cases like these."

Emma nodded quietly, finally for the first time since she entered the room taking a glance over to Will. He looked a little less pale than he had the day before but his lips were stick tainted a sickly blue color. "When will he wake up?" She asked in a near whisper.

"It's hard to say exactly." Dr. Manning replied also looking over his shoulder at Will. "It could be a few hours or it could be a couple more days it all depends on how well his body can heal itself. I couldn't get an accurate look at his body structure, raising his body temperature is our first priority but I couldn't help but notice that he looked rather thin." He glanced back to Emma whose face had instantly grown pale.

"Is this normal for him? Do you know if he's been eating well lately?"

Emma closed her eyes, feeling tears gather there shamefully and she shrugged helplessly. "I-I don't know." She whimpered quietly and then cleared her throat trying to keep her voice even. "We work together but we haven't really seen much of each other since Christmas vacation..."

"Is he depressed at all?"

Emma felt like she was suddenly stabbed in the heart and she fought her tears violently as she nodded her head. "Yes." She whispered brokenly. "He's um-" Her voice cracked as she swallowed over the lump in her throat. "He's going through a bad break up."

"Lady troubles, hm?" Dr. Manning shook his head. "Those are the worst kind."

Emma wasn't sure why she kept talking but the words kept flying out of her mouth out of control. "His ex, who he is still in love with, married another man."

Dr. Manning hissed through his teeth. "Ouch, that's rough. Lucky he's got a friend like you to support him though, huh?" He flashed a smile at her and she chocked back a sob, nodding quietly.

"Well, I've got to make my rounds but I'll be back in a couple hours to check on him. If he wakes up or if there are any changes at all just press that little button over there," he pointed to a button on the wall next to Will's bed, "and a nurse will come and get me."

Emma could do nothing but nod her head in understand. Dr. Manning gave her a reassuring smile before he left the room leaving Emma alone in the eerie room.

A single tear rolled down her cheek and she didn't even bother wiping it away as she made her way over to Will's bed. Will's left arm was hanging over the tops of the blankets and Emma concluded that Dr. Manning had fixed something with his IV and had forgotten to slip it back under the blanket.

Biting down on her lip softly Emma slowly reached out and caressed her fingertips over his pale wrist.

One of the things she loved about Will was that his hands were _always_ warm. Up until Carl, Will was the only one she allowed to hold her hand and every time he did her body would become filled with the warmth that radiated off his hands. The warmth protected her, made her feel safe, made her feel at home.

But his hands were now cold as ice, it was like the life had been literally sucked from them. She flipped his hand around slowly and traced the inside of his palm lightly and brushed her fingers against each of his calloused fingertips. She trailed one finger up the length of his arm to the curve of his elbow and then flattened her palm against his upper arm. Underneath her light grip she could feel his relaxed muscles and in a few brief flashes, she remembered the times when those strong arms held her lovingly.

Another tear dripped from her eye as she gently took his arm and tucked it safely under the blankets careful to avoid the wires in his arm.

She focused her gaze on his face and let out a shuddering sigh. "I'm sorry." She whispered and scoffed quietly. "I know I've said that a million times already but...I'll say it for the rest of my life if I have to."

She brought her shaky hand to rest on the side of his face where his scruff tickled her skin and then she moved to move a few stray, over grown curls away from his forehead.

"I don't understand it, Will." She whispered to his still form, shaking her head. "I don't understand why you would torture yourself like this...over me. You don't deserve me, Will. You deserve a whole lot better." She whimpered quietly as she ran her fingers through his curls lightly. "What I wouldn't give to take your pain away..."

Her hand gently settled onto his shoulder and she leaned over pressing a soft kiss to his forehead. "Please be okay." She whispered against his cool flesh, a few more tears dripping onto his hair and she moved her head to bury in the crook of his neck.

For hours the only time Emma left Will's side was to use the bathroom and that was only when she could not hold it in any longer ( she shuddered at the thought of using a _hospital _bathroom).

Dr. Manning came in with a nurse and checked Will's vitals and was pleased to report that his temperature went up by .4 degrees which was a very good thing in just a matter of a few hours and if things kept progressing that way then Will would be waking up before they knew it.

A few nurses came in regularly after Dr. Manning's visit to keep checking on Will and a few tried to convince Emma to eat something, even offering to bring something up from the hospital cafeteria.

The thought of eating repulsed Emma and not just because it came from a hospital. The nausea in her stomach hadn't ceased since she found out about Will's condition the day before but at seeing how pale Emma was actually getting the nurse brought up a tray of food, setting a tray up next to Will's bed just incase Emma decided to eat.

She didn't.

She _couldn't._

It was nearing the evening and Emma was just about ready to pass out when she heard a sound that sent a thrill through her body.

A blip.

A slight increase in the constant beeping of Will's heart monitor. She sat up straight and watched Will carefully, searching for any signs of movement.

A hand flew to her mouth as his eye's fluttered slightly and she inched closer to the bed.

"Will?" She called out quietly, her lips twitching in a hopeful smile.

His forehead twitched and his eyes fluttered again.

Her heart pounded wildly in her chest as she watched Will. His eyes fluttered some more, his brow furrowed, his head tilted to one side and a small puff of air escaped his lips.

His head turned more towards her and slowly his eye lids fluttered open revealing his dull but still beautiful hazel eyes.

She whimpered his name against her hand and his eyes squinted a bit as they roamed over her quietly. His lips pursed and then his tongue shot out between his lips and he licked his dry, cold lips and visibly swallowed.

"Emma?" His voice was hoarse but it was recognizable and it sent flutters to her heart. Her throat closed up with emotion so she could only nod, a tearful smile pulling at her lips.

He blinked quietly and his head moved forward as he glanced around the room and then settled back on Emma. "I must be dreaming." He mumbled to himself.

Emma shook her head quietly, searching for his hand on top of the blankets and squeezing it lightly. "You're not dreaming, Will."

Will's eyes searched her tearful ones and a smile began to tug at his lips. "You're here."

Emma nodded vigorously, the smile spreading across her face. "I'm here."

His weak smile brightened for a moment before his face fell and he once again glanced around the room. "Where am I?"

Emma's smile fell and she bit her lip lightly. "You're um - you're in the hospital, Will."

His questioning gaze fell on her. "Why?"

Emma swallowed over the lump in her throat. "You don't remember?"

Will furrowed his brow and shook his head slowly. "No."

"What do you remember?" She asked hesitantly, almost afraid of his answer.

Will frowned in thought for a few silent moments and then he suddenly sprung up, catching Emma by surprise. "Sectionals!" He exclaimed and a sudden chill ran down her spine and he turned to her with wide eyes. "Emma, the kids have sectionals this weekend." He suddenly shivered violently and slithered back under the warm covers still keeping his anxious gaze on her.

Emma closed her eyes tightly, wincing quietly. It was her worst nightmare coming true.

"It's January, Will." She explained quietly, opening her eyes to look at him and tried to smile. "Your kids won, well actually they tied but they're moving on to regionals."

"We won?" His eyes lit up and her heart broke at what she knew was coming soon. She had to tell him or he'd remember on his own but either one brought the nausea back to her stomach.

"Yeah," She whispered with a small hesitant smile and squeezed his hand again, "You won."

His smile brightened as he stared into her eyes and then slowly his eyes travelled down to where her hand rested over his through the blankets.

His smile instantly faded as he stared at the ring on her finger, his face contorting in confusion and then his lips parted slightly as realization suddenly dawned on him.

Emma brought her right hand over her left, covering the ring she was now ashamed to wear and tearfully looked at Will's face. She nearly burst into sobs at the look of heart break clouding his eyes, the same look she had seen that day in her office.

Will slowly pulled his hand out from under hers bring it up to rest over his chest and eventually met her eyes. Her apology was written in her red rimmed, wide eyes and she shook her head slowly.

"What are you doing here, Emma?" He asked quietly, the life now completely gone from his voice.

"I-I'm here to see you, Will." She squeaked. "I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"I'm fine." He answered coldly. "You shouldn't be here, Emma. I'm sure _Carl_ is worried sick about you."

With a little icy glare he slowly flipped himself onto his side, turning his back to Emma and pulling the covers up to his chin.

"Will, I don't care." She whispered, reaching out to touch his shoulder. "I don't care what he thinks."

Will tensed at her touch, remained still and silent for a good thirty seconds and then spoke evenly, "Please go, Emma."

She withdrew her hand sharply as if she had just touched a scolding hot stove and hurt washed over her features.

She knew she deserved it though. She deserved his coldness, his hate and she couldn't bare to break his heart any further.

A few tears rolled down her cheeks despite her desperate attempts to keep them at bay as she slowly backed away from his bed.

"Goodbye Will." She whispered brokenly before slowly walking out of the room.

Will stared at the plain white wall ahead of him, shivering quietly even under the heavy blankets, and hot tears burned his eyes.

It would hurt like hell later on but if he was being honest with himself all he wanted was for Emma to come running back in, take him into her arms and never let him go.


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/n: Sorry about the lack of update guys but I had major writers block for this but now I've cracked it! I'm not sure how you'll feel about this chapter its very angsty but I wouldn't feel totally disheartened either...something might be coming real soon. I'd like to thank Charlotte for helping me crack the writers block! So with all that said and done, I hope you all enjoy this chapter as much as possible.

* * *

**_

Emma had tried to go back to visit him, thinking that he just needed time to get over the shock of everything and then they'd be able to talk.

She was wrong.

The nurses at the front desk let her in but as she approached Will's room, one of the nurses exiting his room asked her her name and upon telling her the nurse replied that she couldn't let her in.

Emma squeaked out a "why not?" and the nurse apologized saying they had explicit instructions from the patient himself not to let her in.

Will didn't want to see her.

Once again, it wasn't like she blamed him but it didn't stop the hurt that flooded her.

What had she done to that poor man?

She always knew Will to be the compassionate type, he was easily forgiving and couldn't stay mad at someone for too long because that's just how his heart was. The only person she had ever known Will to stay mad at, to not forgive was Terri after she had broken his heart.

And now to learn that she was at the same level as Terri, that he couldn't bare to look at her, that he coldly turned his back on her when she tried to reach out to him...it was more painful that she could have imagined.

So Emma had driven home, fighting back tears the whole way and then collapsed onto the couch in a fit of uncontrollable tears.

She thankful to be alone, she hadn't heard from Carl since their fight the other day and she hoped it stayed that way for a while. She didn't want him, or anybody else for that matter to see her in her state of self loathing.

She hated herself, she truly did. She had brutally hurt and broken a sweet, innocent man who didn't deserve it.

She married a man she wasn't sure she _truly_ loved.

She put a man who she wasn't sure she was really over in the hospital.

She received disappointed glares from her coworkers and students.

She hadn't meant for any of this to happen. She just wanted to be happy. She just wanted to forget that she had ever been hurt.

She pushed Will out of her life but she had pushed a little too far and now he was sick and wanted nothing to do with her.

She longed to see him, to make sure he was okay, to mend his broken heart. She wanted to see his smile, to hear his laugh, to see his eyes light up whenever she walked into the room.

She hadn't seen them since his ridiculous attempts to win her back which she couldn't admit at the time but now that she could dwell on the past were actually flattering.

She wished she hadn't blown him off so easily with just a roll of her eyes, she wished she could have let herself indulge in his over zealous tries for her affection and let herself see that he was in fact doing them because he _couldn't_ let her go. It wasn't just because he saw her as a prize to be won, a little trophy he had let slip through his fingers and now felt he needed to win back. No. It was deeper than that.

It physically hurt him so much that he changed who he was to win her back and when that didn't work he fell into a depression until it nearly killed him. That was not something a man just in competition would go through just to win his prize. It was a man in love with a broken heart who realized his prior mistakes and deeply regretted them.

She glared down angrily at the diamond on her left ring finger. That little rock had done so much damage, broken a man so bad he nearly killed himself, put the final nail in the coffin of a relationship Emma had been slowly killing since she agreed to go on a date with her dentist, and caused her to hate herself and the marriage she was supposed to be happy in.

Biting down hard on her lip to the point where it nearly bled, she practically ripped the ring off of her finger and with a cry of pain, loathing and anger chucked it across the room. It hit the wall, chipping the paint slightly and then bounced onto the carpet, where the light streaming in through the window bounced off the sparkling diamond, mocking her misery.

She narrowed her eyes at the ring and mentally cursed the second part of her now hyphenated last name. She wished she could erase that six letter word permanently so she could just be _Miss_ Emma _Pillsbury_.

Then she burst into another round of tears, burying her face into a pillow as she realized she was getting angry at Carl. She was of course still angry at him for not telling her about Will but agreeing to marry him was not his fault, it was hers. She could have said no. She _should_ have said no.

She could have been there at Sectionals with Will, listening to the kids perform, cheering them on and rejoicing happily when they won. She could have been singing along with the lot on the bus ride hope as they cheered their victory. She could have been hugging Will as he happily placed the trophy next to the same one from last year in the choir room.

She could've been rebuilding their broken friendship to the point where she realized he was still the man she had fallen in love with.

Instead, she had to look upon his excited his face and tell him she couldn't go to sectionals because she had a fight with Carl, knowing full well where she'd be going once Will got on that bus.

Instead, she had to watch his heart shatter as she showed him her wedding ring.

Instead, she almost killed him.

And that thought killed her.

* * *

It was over a week later when Emma heard the whispers through the halls that Will was back at work. She'd also heard that he looked terrible, even worse than he had been recently.

She tried to look for him but every time she passed the spanish room his door was closed, every time she passed his office the lights were off and it was barren, every time she heard music drifting out of the choir room the only people inside were the glee kids.

She wondered if the whispers were just talk and rumors, or if people had gone crazy and were seeing a ghost. That thought rattled her to the core and she had to push back the nausea at the thought of Will being dead.

Her fears were calmed when she finally saw him, conversing with Shannon from down the hallway. Though her relief was only short lived because the rumors were true: He looked _terrible._

His face had more color to it then what she had seen in the hospital but he still looked dreadfully pale. His normally snug fitting clothing, hugging every one of his taught muscles, fell loosely on his thinner body. His hair was slightly over grown and fell over his forehead and ears in messy curls and she even noticed a bit of dark scruff lining his jawline.

He smiled weakly as Shannon said something to him that had her laughing and she nudged him lightly and Emma's heart sank as she watched him wobble on his feet for a brief second. He nodded along to whatever Shannon was saying and his lips moved as he made some sort of statement to agree with her.

He suddenly paused in the middle of the hallway as his eyes met hers over the crowd of students. Her eyes widened and her lips parted slightly as if she were about to say something even though nothing she would say could be heard from the distance they were at. Pain flickered briefly across his eyes and he turned his head immediately towards Shannon, breaking their eye contact, muttered something to her and then turned in the opposite direction, disappearing around the corner.

Shannon searched the hallway inquisitively until her eyes settled on Emma. The two women stared at each other from across the hallway, hurt scrawled across Emma's face, sympathy and pity scrawled across Shannon's. Swallowing hard, Emma slowly made her way through the crowd to approach the football coach.

She paused in front of her, fiddling with her fingers nervously as she shyly looked the other woman in the eyes. "How is he?" She whispered, knowing full well what a stupid question that was.

"He's-" Shannon's voice was light and hopeful but then she paused and her face fell and she shook her head. "I'm not going to lie to you, Emma. He's in pretty bad shape."

A shuddering breath passed Emma's lips and her eyes screwed shut. Shannon's hand brushed against her quivering arm as a means of comfort.

"I feel like such a terrible person." Emma muttered pathetically.

Shannon sighed. "You're not a -" She shut her mouth as Emma's eyes snapped up to hers. Emma knew there was no use denying it even if her friend was just trying to make her feel better.

Emma shook her head, silently saying that no other words were necessary and then she brushed past Shannon, fighting back tears as she slowly walked down the hallway.

* * *

Two weeks passed and the only time Emma had seen Will was the brief glimpses from the opposite ends of the hallway. It happened occasionally where they'd be heading towards each other unknowingly, he'd spot her, stop and turn in the other direction.

It hurt more and more each time it happened but as time drew on she also felt herself growing angry. She knew it was wrong of her to be angry at him for avoiding her, she did the same thing when he broke her heart but she just wanted the chance to talk to him. She wanted the chance to make everything better. She didn't know if she could, if it was possible at all but she wanted to _try. _

She didn't know Will's schedule that well and so it was hard to try and catch him on his free period. She tried going down to his classroom or office during their lunch break but found both places locked and dark. She soon discovered that Will always left school grounds for lunch every day and when she tried to catch him at the door she somehow always managed to just miss him and could only watch helplessly as his old blue car pulled out of the parking lot.

She tried to canoodle herself into staying after at a glee rehearsal by talking to some of the glee kids but they explained that Will hadn't shown up at a rehearsal since he got out of the hospital.

That stung Emma most of all. She knew how much Will loved the glee club and it was the only thing that brought him happiness over the last few months but now he couldn't even bring himself to attend glee rehearsals.

She was now more determined than ever to fix things between them. She tried planning times where she'd bump into him in the hallways once she finally learned his schedule but he was always one step ahead of her. He would always be talking to somebody in the hallways at all time, making sure to be deep in conversation so she couldn't interrupt him and then ignored her completely when they would actually pass each other.

More than a few times she felt like running after him and forcing him to talk to her but she didn't want to make people think any less of her. She needed to catch him _alone._

She laid off for a couple of days just trying to observe him quietly and then finally she found her opportunity. She overheard him setting up a private one on one tutoring session with one of his students after school. She knew he'd like to clean up after the student left and that would give her the perfect opportunity to talk to him alone.

Once school ended that day she hung around in her office, trying to concentrate on paperwork for a little while before she headed over to Will's spanish room. She paced around the adjacent hallway until she saw the student pass her on his way out.

Her heart leapt in her throat as she looked in the direction of Will's spanish room. She sucked in a breath, anxious thoughts swirling her mind about talking to Will for the first time in a while.

She paused in front of his closed doorway, bit down on her lip softly and then knocked quietly. She held her breath as she waited for his response and then let it out slowly when his voiced called out, "Come in!"

She slowly turned the door knob and as she entered quietly, Will spoke again, "Did you forget some..." He trailed off as he looked up from his desk to see her standing in the doorway. She smiled shyly and lifted her hand in a small wave.

His face remained stony and emotionless as he stared at her, blinking quietly. She swallowed over the sudden lump in her throat and then cleared her throat as she closed the door behind her.

Will's eyes twitched at the action and his brow furrowed in slight puzzlement but he still remained still and silent.

"Will," She began and she hated how foreign his name sounded passing her lips, "We need to talk."

His eyes narrowed slightly as he continued to stare at her quietly, making her shift uncomfortably where she stood but she managed to keep a serious expression her face.

Will licked his lips, shrugged and dropped his gaze to desk, returning back to whatever paper he was grading. "There's nothing to talk about."

Her brow furrowed and she took a few quick steps towards him. "There's plenty to talk about!"

Will's shoulders visibly tensed and his hand froze above his paper. Emma stared at him sternly, her hands beginning to clench into fists at her sides, her breathing deep and even.

"Alright." Suddenly he dropped his pen onto his desk and fell back against the back of the chair, turning his slightly cold gaze to her. "Fine," He crossed his arms over his chest and raised his eyebrows at her, "Let's talk."

Emma was a little taken a back that he gave in so easily so she remained speechless for a good moment or two. Then when she finally found the words to speak with, her hands unclenched and relaxed at her sides and she took a few more steps towards him, her face softening. Will eyed her warily, his eyes narrowed in suspicion but he made no move to stop her or back away.

"First of all," She began in a gentle, caring tone, "How are you?"

Will's brow furrowed considerably, confusion and skepticism washing over his face. A sardonic smile then began to tug on his lips and his eyes clouded over with a dark humor, obviously trying to hide the real pain he was feeling.

"I'm just great, Emma. Thanks so much for your concern." His tone had a little bite to it and she winced, her breath catching in her throat.

"Will-" She began to protest in a soft whisper.

"Why are you even here, Emma?" She hated the way her name sounded on his lips, like she was some sort of disease he wanted to get rid of. "I'm sure your _husband_ won't like it that you're talking to me." He practically spit out the word as he unfolded his arms and turned back to his desk to avoid her eyes. He picked up his pen and began to dig the red ink into the paper he was grading, mumbling a curse under his breath as the pen suddenly bled leaving a few nice blotches of red ink all over the student's paper. He chucked the bleeding pen into the garbage and it slammed against the metal with a loud bang and he practically ripped his top drawer open, rifling through the materials inside with a vengeance.

Emma watched him silently unsure of what to make of his behavior, she had never really seen Will angry before. She had heard a few times how he had snapped at the glee kids about their behavior and at Sue for hers but she had never witnessed it first hand, especially because of her.

His words cut like a knife through her heart and her hands began to ball into fists again. She took a few deep breaths and then spoke evenly, "I'm not married anymore, Will."

Will froze in his search for a pen. He stared in silence at the drawer for a good long moment and then slowly lifted his head to meet her eyes, his own narrowed in confusion. "What?"

"I said, I'm not married anymore." Emma repeated and held up her left hand for proof. She hadn't worn the ring since she threw it at the wall that day nearly a month ago but she was telling Will the truth.

Carl came back a few days after that, begging for her forgiveness and trying to sweet talk her. However, Emma would have none of it and it ended up in another huge fight that ended in Emma demanding an end to their "mistake of a marriage." Carl complied easily and an annulment was processed and done within a week.

Will's eyes searched her frustrated ones as she continued to hold up her bare hand, her face frozen in a frown.

Then suddenly to her complete surprise, all of the anger and coldness washed away from Will's face was was replaced by a familiar sadness. She lowered her hand, her brow furrowing at his odd reaction and he bowed his head, slowly closing the drawer, forgetting all about the red pen.

He placed both hands on the desk as he stared blankly at the sheets of paper. "I'm sorry Emma."

Emma's eyes widened and she blinked at him, staring at him in utter shock and confusion. "W-what?"

"I'm sorry." He whispered again, this time in a more pathetic, tearful tone.

Out of all the things he could have said, of all the things she was expecting him to say that was the last thing she ever expected to hear.

"Sorry for what?" She questioned quietly.

Will closed his eyes tightly, his hands falling onto his lap as he took a few deep breaths. Still refusing to look her in the eyes he finally said, "I'm sorry for ruining your life."

Emma's jaw dropped so quickly it was almost painful. Her face screwed up in complete bewilderment and though she desperately tried to correct him words failed her.

"I led you on, broke your heart, chased after you when you clearly didn't want it and ruined your marriage all because I can't handle the pain of heart break." He muttered brokenly and ran a hand over his face.

Emma continued to blink at him in shock, air filling her lungs as her mind screamed at her to say something but the only sound that would escape her was a small squeak from the back of her throat.

"So..." He cleared his throat as he slowly stood up, pushing his papers off to the side of the desk. "I'm done."

"Done with what?" She squeaked, almost too afraid to ask and find the answer.

His arms flattened tightly against his sides as he stared at the ground silently for what seemed like ever. He slowly lifted his head to bravely meet her eyes and swallowed as he responded quietly, "This. Us."

A small gasp passed her lips and her eyes widened as she shook her head, horrified. "W-Will..." She whispered.

He turned his head away, his eyes closing as his face contorted in pain. "I keep hurting you, Emma. It's too painful for you and its too painful for me. We're...we don't belong in each others lives."

"N-no." She squeaked in protest, wanting to scream it at him instead but her whole body seemed frozen and numb.

"I think its best that we don't see each other anymore." He concluded in a whisper.

Emma could feel her heart pounding away in her chest, her lung felt like they were struggling for her air and tears pricked at her eyes but all she could do was stare helplessly at him.

He grabbed his jacket and satchel off the back of his chair, put on the jacket, swung the satchel around his shoulder and wordlessly walked towards the door, passing her without a single glance.

"Will!" She cried, turning around wildly, her wide and frantic eyes settling on his tense back. He paused momentarily at the doorway, his hand holding onto the doorknob, the only sound filling the room being Emma's quick, shuddering breaths.

Will then pulled the door open slowly, whispering, "Goodbye Emma" and left her to her tears. 


	4. Chapter 4

Emma wasn't sure how long she was standing there, tears streaming down her cheeks, staring at the open doorway where Will had disappeared out of.

Will had just walked out of her life and she had let him.

The last three weeks she'd spent building up her courage to talk to him and finally set things right and make it all better and she had just let him walk out without a fight.

And what was worse were the things he said. A couple of months ago she might have agreed with him if he said he was ruining her life but she was hurt then and wanted to forget about him. Now it was a truly ridiculous concept. She ruined her own life and she hurt Will in the process.

It hurt too much to think she had lost him when he was in the hospital, to think she was the one who killed him, to think she was the one who caused him to leave her life forever.

Now, standing there alone in Will's spanish room she felt the same loss, the same fear that she felt at seeing Will in that hospital bed. She lost him. He was alive and, for the most part, well but she had lost him. As a friend, as potentially more than that, possibly even as a co-worker. She'd see him around and he'd see her around and maybe after a while he'd say hello but she imagined he'd treat her like they never had a friendship, like they never had more than that.

With a sob she realized that she had done that to Will over the past couple of months. She treated him like he meant nothing to her when in actuality he meant the world but it was too painful for her to admit it.

It took Will almost losing his life and him intentionally walking out of her life to make her realize that she could _not_ lose Will. She needed him more than she thought. Without him, there was a hole inside her heart that would never be filled. She tried to fill that hole with Carl and she tricked herself into thinking it worked but now she realized that Carl only hid the hole from her he did not fill it and now that he was gone, the hole was completely visible and if she let Will walk out of her life now it would never close.

She swallowed over the lump in her throat, sniffled past her tears and finally found the will to move. Inhaling deeply she practically sprung out the door, her heels clicking loudly against the tile as she nearly flew down the hallway.

Her tears blurred her vision and strands of her hair flew up and around her face as she ran desperately down each and every hallway, her heart pounding in her chest as she searched for Will.

She came to a sudden stop when she saw a flash of curls from the other end of the long hallway. She turned her head slowly just as he turned his head towards her. Their eyes met across the distance and a similar scene flashed through her mind. She was all set to leave McKinley, her box in her hands when he appeared down the opposite end of the hallway. He ran towards her in what seemed like slow motion and before she had time to truly question his actions he leaned down gave them their first kiss.

Now Will stood on that side of the hallway, the sunlight beating down on his back through the large glass window behind him, prepared to walk out her life forever.

With adrenaline pumping through her veins she took off in a run down the hallway, the journey seemingly endless until she finally reached him. She saw the hesitation and sadness in his eyes and without a single word she propelled herself at him, throwing her arms tightly around his neck and slamming her lips down onto his.

A whimper escaped her lips as his arms circled gently around her and her arms tightened even more around his neck as his lips began to move against hers. Her fingers tangled in his curls to keep their mouths together prolonging the kiss as long as possible.

Only when her lungs strained for oxygen did she break the passionate kiss with a sob, burying her face into his tense shoulder. His arms loosened around for for a slight second and she whimpered quietly, grabbing onto the back of his shirt and clutching to him desperately making sure he couldn't leave. His arms then tightened around her, reassuring her that he wasn't going to leave but she still did not loosen her grip on his shirt. Sobs continued to bubble from her lips and tears fell helplessly down her cheeks as she nuzzled her nose against his skin, longing to feel him.

After a minute of holding him silently Emma loosened her grip on him, pulled back only slightly and cupped his face in her hands, looking into his slightly stunned eyes. She pressed her lips to his in a desperate kiss, "I'm sorry," She muttered and then kissed him again, "I'm so sorry," another quick, longing kiss, "It's all my fault." She cried, kissing him one last time before falling back against his shoulder and holding him tight. "Please don't blame yourself, Will. It's not your fault, It's my fault, it's all my fault. I was scared and I was hurt and Carl he was- he was there and I was foolish enough to believe that he could ever take your place. The marriage was a mistake Will, I never should have said yes, I never should have even considered saying yes, I shouldn't have ever listened to him." She scratched lightly at his back, her train of thought being that he'd still run away from her. "I love you, Will." She whimpered hysterically against his shoulder. "Please don't go, please, please..."

His hands moved down to her waist, gripping her there gently and with a little struggle managed to pull her away from him. Tears streamed endlessly down her cheeks and her breath left her lips in short, quick, hysterical gasps mixed with sobs. His hands immediately found their way to her face and he started to wipe away her tears. "Hey," He whispered softly, his breath ghosting across her lips, "Calm down, Emma, it's alright."

His name bubbled from her lips in a quiet whimper and when she ceased to stop crying, he guided her back down onto his chest and she gripped onto his shirt again.

"It's okay." He whispered into her hair, his lips grazing against her scalp. "It's okay."

Will wasn't exactly sure what had just happened. One minute he was mentally preparing himself for the emotional turmoil he was going to put himself through by taking himself out of Emma's life and the next the said woman was in his arms clutching to him for dear life, kissing him, telling him she loved him.

As that thought finally registered in his head, his arms tightened around her, he buried his face into her shoulder. Emma was there wanting _him_, admitting all he had wanted to hear for such a very long time.

He probably should not be giving in this easily but as far as he was concerned this might all be a dream resulting from his depression. He had had dreams as vivid before but the difference between those dreams and this was that none of them had felt this real. He wasn't sure if it was real or not but either way he'd milk it for all its worth.

Emma eventually calmed, her tears stopped and her breathing returned to normal but she still refused to let go of Will. She could feel Will's rough facial hair brushing up against her soft skin and his hot breath tickling the hairs on the back of her neck and was relieved to know he was there.

She finally lifted her head slowly, turning her face slightly so her lips brushed against his cheek lightly as she pulled away to look hesitantly upon his face. She was taken aback to see that there were also tear stains on his cheeks. Locking her eyes onto his she once again lifted her hands to his face, wiping away a few stray tears from his cheeks.

She bit down on her lip as she stared into Will's eyes and unsure of what he was thinking, a smile began to tug on her lips to get some kind of reaction from him.

One of Will's arms moved around her to support her more as his other moved to take one of her hands in his. Their fingers entwined and she leaned her forehead against their conjoined hands, a brighter smile taking over her lips.

"Now this looks familiar." His voice was light and his eyes seemed to dance with a humor she hadn't seen in a very long time. She breathed a laugh and squeezed his hand gently.

She managed to get a small glimpse of the smile on his lips before his forehead came down to rest gently on hers. Emma's eyes fluttered closed as she relished in the feeling and the closeness of Will as they brought their hands together to rest safely between their chests.

"Will..." She whispered, her voice still shaking from emotion.

"Hm?" His thumb brushed against the back of her hand lightly.

Letting out a slow breath she pulled away from him embrace and met his eyes. "I think we need to talk. _Really_ talk."

Will stared into her wide eyes for a moment or two and then gave a curt nod. "I think you're right."

Emma reluctantly pulled fully out of Will's embrace, wiping at both of her eyes and sniffling quietly. She brought her hands to rest in front of her and smiled hesitantly at him, that shyness that usually accompanied her being in Will's presence making itself known.

"Uhm," Will rubbed the back of his neck, smiling nervously, "You want to come back to my place?"

Emma was unsure why her cheeks suddenly flushed as she nodded quietly murmuring, "Sure."

Emma followed Will back to his apartment and once they reached the apartment, Will offered her something to drink and allowed her to use his bathroom to freshen up.

They then both settled on the couch, both of them trying to ignore the memories of the last time they shared that couch together, and talked. It was a little slow going and awkward at first but before they knew it they were both spilling their guts. Will confessed everything that happened between him and Shelby, April and even Terri. Emma spoke about Carl and what she did and did not feel for him. There were many tears and even a few arguments where they both raised their voices, expressing their frustration about how they made each other feel within the last year.

Emma expressed her fear and her concern that she didn't know if she could trust him despite the fact that she still did have strong feelings for him. Will tried his best to reassure her that nothing else would happen with any other woman, he had long since learned his lesson in that area.

Their very long, emotional talk ended in a warm hug and a promise of friendship with the hope of something more in the not so distant future.

There was a brief awkwardness that followed and Emma was about to excuse herself and go home when Will butted in with a dinner invitation. Emma hesitated briefly before willing accepting.

They bantered a little bit about whether or not Emma should help him. Will insisted that she was his guest and he would not make his guest do any work. She insisted that she didn't mind and she would have nothing to do anyway. That, plus the pout she'd thrown at him had him give in much quicker than he would have liked.

There was another brief awkwardness as they worked in the kitchen together but they quickly warmed up to each other, smiling and laughing and pulling jokes as they prepared dinner.

Over dinner they talked about everything but their past and future including glee club, to which Emma lightly scolded him for letting it fall through the cracks the last few weeks, he apologized sheepishly for his weakness and promised that he'd be back running glee club with a new found energy. He tried to ask Emma about what had been going on in her life but she found it nearly impossible to talk about it without bringing up Carl and the _last_ thing she wanted to was talk about Carl.

They bonded a little more over cleaning up the dishes and after that was when they finally bid goodnight. It was clear they were both emotionally and physically exhausted from the days events and needed to relax.

Will walked her down to the parking garage despite Emma's insisting that he didn't have to. Emma turned to Will right before she got in her car, leaned over to kiss his cheek but Will tiled his head meeting her lips instead.

It was short, sweet kiss and Emma knew she should have scolded him for it but she couldn't deny the fluttering in her heart at the feel and taste of his lips. She bit her lip shyly and bid him a goodnight before climbing into her car and driving home.

For the first time in months they both slept peacefully without a single tear being shed.

* * *

Will inhaled the fresh briskness of the early February air as he stepped out of his car the next morning. He smiled at the cloudless, blue sky and the bright yellow sun that finally seemed to match his mood.

With a little skip in his step he walked towards the school, starting to hum a happy tune under his breath.

Waiting for him in the lobby was Shannon Beiste who had made it a daily habit to make sure he showed up and that he was well enough to make it through the day. It was her shock to see Will, a smile on his face, clean shaven, his hair cut and back to its normal style and his posture upright.

"William?" She questioned, her voice laced with surprise as the younger man approached her. Will's grin brightened at seeing his friend and he took the football coach by the arms lightly and kissed her cheek enthusiastically leaving her blinking in shock.

"Hey Shannon, its a beautiful day today isn't?" He chuckled to himself and resumed his humming as he practically pranced down the hallway.

Shannon furrowed her brow, staring after him with her jaw dropped, she looked around inquisitively and then bustled through the hallway after him.

"Will!" She called after him and he came to a halt, turning his head over his shoulder, smiling at her in question as she neared him.

"What's going on with you?" She asked a bit skeptically. A frown formed on her face as she shot an exasperated look at him, one hand resting on her hip. "Are you high? What have you been smoking?"

"What?" His eyebrows shot up and then he laughed, slipping an arm around her shoulders as he encouraged them to continue their walk. "No, I'm not on anything Shannon. I'm just...happy." He beamed at her.

Shannon stopped them again scratching her head in confusion. "Yesterday you were beyond miserable, looking like you were thrown into a blender, now..." She motioned to his clean cut appearance. "What the hell happened? You meet someone?"

Will's face lit up and he gave a light, contented sigh. "I got reacquainted with someone that I hadn't really talked to in a long time. It was refreshing and wonderful and I feel confident in a possible future relationship."

Shannon's eyebrows shot up as she looked over her shoulder and then leaned in closer to Will. "That quick? Will, you couldn't have possibly gotten over Emma that quick."

Shannon didn't think it was possible for Will's smile to get any wider but she was proved wrong. He chuckled deeply, winking at her, "It _is_ Emma." With a small skip and another laugh he continued down the hallway.

Shannon was left still scratching her head in confusion and then rolled her eyes, muttering something under her breath as she walked in the opposite direction.

Will waved to and greeted students and faculty he hadn't talked to in months. He ignored the strange looks he got from all of them, he knew his behavior had done a total 180 and it was only a matter of time before they all figured out why.

Suddenly he spotted the reason, walking casually down the hallway. It was the first time in a very, _very _long time that he didn't feel his heart breaking, or the rush of hot tears to his eyes at the sight of her beautiful red hair.

Biting down on his lip lightly he picked up his pace, sneaking up behind her, throwing an arm around her shoulder and pecking her cheek lightly. A small gasp passed her lips at the sudden motion but she relaxed into a smile when she saw Will there. Her cheeks flushed and the spot where his lips had touched burned. "Hi Will."

"How are you this _glorious_ morning?" He threw his free hand up into the air as a grin spread across his face.

"Fine." She giggled, her heart swelling at how happy he was. She certainly missed this Will. "I take it you're doing well too."

"Oh, I'm great." He beamed.

"Good." A bright smile crossed her lips, her eyes twinkling in delight as she looked up at him. "I'm glad to hear that."

He suddenly moved so he was standing in front of her bringing her to a halt and shifting nervously on his feet. "Um...look, I've got to get to my first class but will I see you at lunch?" His face was lit up in childlike anticipation and she had to fight back a giggle.

"Yes, of course." She grinned up at him.

"Great!" He clapped his hands together in front of him and that time she actually did giggle in response. He winked as he whirled around, turning over his shoulder to wave to her as he called, "See you at lunch!"

"See you at lunch." She echoed in a whisper, feeling her heart pounding away in her chest and she brought her hand up to rest against the spot on her cheek that was still burning from his kiss.

How was it that that man always managed to make her swoon like a teenage girl? She tried desperately not to especially after all thats happened. She wanted to first and foremost build her friendship back up with him and then consider her more romantic feelings but when he'd flash that grin at her she couldn't help but fall.

She sighed quietly to herself and continued the rest of the way to her office.

* * *

When Emma reached the faculty lounge at the start of the lunch hour Will was already seated with Shannon at a table. Will was telling the football coach a detailed story about something that had happened in his second period spanish class while nibbling on a chocolate chip cookie.

Shannon was the first to notice Emma as she approached the table and she shifted her eyes in that direction. Will caught Shannon's distraction and followed her line of eyesight to where Emma stood and his face lit up brightly.

"Emma, hey!" He reached out, pulling out the chair next to him and motioning for her to have a seat. She smiled politely and slid carefully into the seat, staring to unpack her lunch. She had just unfolded her sandwich out of its aluminum wrapping when she noticed Will staring at her. She silently questioned him and he motioned to the sandwich.

"No crusts." He observed of the peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

"Oh." Her cheeks flushed as she placed her hands shyly on the table in front of her. "Yes, well, um..."

His hand reached across the table, his fingers brushing against hers as a means of saying she had nothing to explain. She smiled gratefully and he nodded curly, turning back to Shannon to finish his story.

After a little while Emma began to join in the conversation and they all shared some laughs as they took turns telling stories of crazy things students had done. When Shannon was in the middle of a story about how she had to break up a fight between two boys over a missed catch when Emma heard them.

The whispers.

She usually didn't pay attention much to the other conversations of the faculty of McKinley High, she usually got lost in her own thoughts, but she had heard hers and Will's name.

"I wonder how he is able to talk to her."

"I know I wouldn't be able to forgive her that easily, she put him in the _hospital_ for Christ's sakes."

"If it were me I'd make her suffer for all she's done to him."

"She doesn't deserve his friendship."

"I know, I mean I'm glad he's happy again but it just seems wrong. She's going to break his heart again."

Emma tried to keep her breathing even, trying not to let on to the gossiping teachers that she was listening. She bowed her head, her hand shaking slightly and she caught Will's gaze out of the corner of her eye. He had heard them too.

She slowly shook her head seeing his eyes narrowing slightly. His eyes locked onto her sad, frightened ones and he bit his lip in contemplation before slowly standing up.

"Will." She whispered desperately, reaching over to grab onto his wrist, pleading with her eyes. He placed his hand over hers, gave it a light squeeze and then moved past her approaching the women's table.

Shannon gave Emma a confused look as Emma bit her lip lightly, watching the scene unfold anxiously.

"Excuse me ladies." Will started politely with a slight smile. The women all smiled and swooned in his presence, greeting him kindly.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" He motioned to the single empty seat at their table and all of their faces lit up as they nodded, telling him to take a seat.

He moved into the seat, relaxed for a moment and then leaned sideways, slinging his arm over the back of the chair and motioning over to Emma. "You see that woman over there?"

Their smiles dropped and a few rolled their eyes as their eyes fell on Emma. Will turned back to them his hand slamming down lightly onto the table as he looked at them with a stern expression. "She's my best friend and I really don't appreciate it when people talk about her behind her back."

Their eyes widened at his words and horror crossed their faces at being caught.

"The best part of friendship, no the best part of _love_ is forgiveness and understanding..." Will continued passionately. "Yes she hurt me but I am more than willing to put that in our past and look to the future. I trust her not to break my heart again because I love her and more importantly because she is my _friend._" He stood up from his seat and leaned over the table making sure to lock eyes with every uncomfortable woman at the table. "I do not want to hear another single bad word spoken about Emma. I've forgiven her and that's all that should matter." His stern expression melted away into a clearly fake smile. "Have a nice day, ladies."

He backed away from the table, heading back towards his table where a shocked Emma and Shannon sat. He met Emma's tearful gaze and placing one hand on the back of her chair, leaned down so he was inches from her face. "What do you say we go someplace else, hm?"

Emma could only nod dumbly, her breath catching in her throat at how close he was. He smiled at her and circled around her chair, reaching to pack up his bagged lunch. "I'm sorry Shannon, we'll have to cut this short. I hope you understand."

"Yeah." Shannon muttered, still blinking in shock. "Of course."

He smiled at her gratefully and then turned to Emma, extending out his hand toward her. She slipped her hand into his and he gently pulled her to her feet, still holding lightly onto her hand as they walked out of the lounge together, ignoring the stares of everybody inside.

Will led Emma down to his office and upon seeing the tears that started to pool in her eyes pulled her into a hug once the door shut behind them.

"Emma," He breathed, wrapping one arm around her waist and the other tangled in her hair as he held her close, "Don't listen to them, Em."

Emma slipped her arms around him, burying her face into his chest. "They're right though, Will." She whimpered quietly.

"No, they're not." He insisted, combing his fingers through his hair.

"But-" She began to protest.

"No." He cut her off. "No buts. I told you last night Emma, it doesn't matter anymore. I've forgiven you, you've forgiven me, all that matters is how we feel about each other. They don't understand all that we've been through and they certainly don't understand how we feel about each other." He pulled away from her slightly, bringing his finger to rest under her chin to bring her eyes up to meet his.

"It was a mistake almost leaving you yesterday. Having you now, even just having your friendship, is more than wonderful." He slid his hand up to cup her cheek lightly, smiling as he gazed lovingly down into her eyes. "I need you in my life, Emma Pillsbury and just I'm just letting you know now, there is no way in hell I'm going to let you slide right through my fingers again."

Emma breathed out a laugh as a smile crossed her face. She sniffled quietly and leaned into his touch. "Well that's good then because I'm not letting you go either."

He smiled warmly and brought his forehead down to rest on hers lovingly. Emma sighed lightly bringing her arms up and around his neck. They remained like that for a good few minutes, both unwilling to leave the comforting embrace of the other but eventually they parted, Will dropping an adoring kiss to her forehead.

Will pulled an extra chair over behind his desk and cleared off his desk to allow them to eat clutter-free. They shared a warm smile as they unpacked their lunch and in that moment they knew they'd be okay.


End file.
